A Restoration Mentality | Joel Osteen

of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in, and thank you again for coming out. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this elderly couple. They had been married for over sixteen years. They were at a church fellowship and someone asked them the secret of their success. The man told how he always treated his wife with respect. Andy took her on

trips all over the world, he said. In in fact, for our twenty fifth wedding anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China. Everyone politely applies. Then someone spoke up and said, what'd you do for your fiftieth wedding anniversary? He said, I went back and picked her up. Hold up your bible, say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says.

a spouse walks out of a relationship. Other times it is because of our own choices. Maybe we get involved with the wrong crowd, develop bad habits, we end up with broken dreams. We hear that voice telling us again and again, it's your fault. You blew it too bad. This is as good as it's ever going to be. Many people are living with regrets, thinking about what they should have done. If I've just spent more time raising

my children. If I've just been more disciplined and not hung around those people, or if I just stayed in school, where would I be today? They don't realize that defeated mindset is keeping them from God's best. Then there are times it's not somebody else's fault, it's not our own fault, it's just life. You're a good person, you're honoring God, and all of a sudden you're facing an illness caught you totally off guard. You lost your health. Or maybe

you're being your best each day. You're going to work, giving it your awe, but business starts to slow down. You had more than enough at one time. Now you're struggling to get by counter loss. It's easy to get discouraged, to settle where we are and to not expect anything better. But the good news is our God is a god of restoration. He never said we wouldn't have unfair situations. He never promised we wouldn't experience lass, But he did promise if we would stay in faith, he would restore

everything that was stolen. When God restores, he doesn't bring you out the same. He makes the enemy pay for bringing the trouble into your life. God is so merciful, whether it was your fault, somebody else's fault, or just life in general. He says, He's not only going to bring you out, He's going to bring you out better off than you were before. Get that down in your spirit.

You may have made mistakes. You brought the trouble on yourself, but God's mercy is bigger than any mistake that you've made. Don't settle there, have a restoration Mentality's not only going to bring you out, He's going to bring you out better. In the Scripture, if someone stole an ox they had to pay that person back with five oxen. If they stole a sheep, they had to pay them back with four sheep. Another place, they had to repay seven times. In Isaiah, God said he would pay us back double

for the unfair situations. Notice the principle God never brings us out the same. If we say we're going to restore this old car, that means we're going to bring it back to the original condition. We're going to make it look like it did when it was brand new. But that is not how God defines restoration. His idea of restore is to increase, to improve, to promote to make better now. You may have gone through a loss, somebody did you wrong, or maybe it was your fault.

You made poor choices. The enemy would love for you to sit around your whole life and listen to his lies. It's never going to change. It's been this way too long. It's your fault. Just settle where you are. Shake off that doubt, shake off that self pity. You may have suffered a loss, but your attitude should be I know my God is a god of restoration, and I'm not only coming out, I'm coming out stronger. I'm coming out promoted. I'm coming out increase better off than I was before.

If you're going to see God restore, you have to have this restoration mentality. That means you're not sitting around nursing your wounds, thinking about what you lost and how many bad breaks you've had. No, you've got a smile on your face, a spring in your step. You're expecting things to change in your favor. Somebody may have done you wrong, walked out of a relationship, but you're expecting

to meet somebody better. The loan may not have gone through, didn't qualify for the new house, but you're expecting a new door, expecting a better deal. The medical report doesn't look good, but you've got another report. You're expecting to get well. You're expecting your child to straighten up. You're expecting to have a blessed, prosperous year. For everything that you've lost, every person that did you wrong, every unfair situation, every sickness you had to endure, God is saying that

is not the end. It is not over. I still have something amazing in your future. If you will have the right attitude, God will take the loss and use it to promote you. God will use the person that did you wrong to take you to a new level. God can even use the mistake you made. You brought the trouble on yourself. But God is so merciful He's going to make the enemy pay. He can use that mistake to take you higher than if you had not have made it. Now do your part and get your

hopes up quickly. Living all your disappointments. Quit telling your friends how it's never going to work out, and how you should just settle where you are. No, shake that off and have this restoration mentality. I know this couple, they were living a very blessed life. Very successful. Everything was going great. Then the perfect storm hit. The business went down, the lady had some health issues. One of their in laws suddenly died. One bad thing after another,

long story short, they ended up losing their house. It was foreclosed on, and they were so discouraged. They were having to live with some friends, and the lady had been in the hospital for several weeks. When I saw her, she said, Joel, they say there's light at the end of the tunnel, but we can't even see the tunnel. We don't see how this is ever going to work out. I told them what I'm telling you. Our God is a god of restoration. Nothing you're facing is a surprise.

He had the solution before you had the problem. He wants to bring you out better. They would have been happy to come out like they were before, to have her health back, to have a place to live, to have money to pay their bills. I said, that's great, but that's not how God works. He doesn't bring you out the same. He never restores you back to the original condition. He brings you out better. And at first

they couldn't really receive this. The scripture says the people had become too discouraged to believe, And if you're not careful, you could let negative thoughts play in your mind so long that they become ingrained in your thinking and you become too discouraged to believe. When I tell you God wants to bring you out better. In your spirit down in here, something comes alive, something says, yes, this is for me. I have not seen my best days. God

has greater things in my future. Your spirit will receive it. That's where God lives. But many times our mind will try to talk us out of it. This is not for you today. You never get any good breaks, You'll never be healthy, you'll never be successful. No, do yourself a favor, at least temporarily turn your mind off and receive what God is saying. You may have gone through a loss, but God is going to bring you out better, promoted, increased, healthier, stronger,

wiser than you were before. Receive it by faith. I finally convinced this couple to get in agreement with God and start expecting things to turn around. And it didn't happen overnight, but about three years later I saw them in the lobby. They brought a picture of the brand new house they had moved into. The lady was weeping and weeping, so grateful. Her husband had started a new business. It was much more successful than the one they lost. They have three children. In their first home, two of

the children had to share a bedroom. In this home, each child had their own bedroom, plus there was a spare guest bedroom. She said, Joel, it's in a better location, closer to our business. It's on a bigger lot. Plus our payments are less on this house than on the original house that we lost. Friends, God knows how to restore. Now, don't talk yourself out of what God wants to do. You may have gone through a loss. It was painful. You could be discouraged. No, put on a new attitude.

It's not over until God says it's over. And God says I'm bringing you out, promoted, increased, improved, better than you were before. Can you get a vision for it? See, it's easy in the tough times to get discourage and bitter settle where we are not expect anything good. But this is what faith is all about. You've got to believe it even when you can't see it. You've got

to thank God even when you feel like complaining. You've got to say, I know it's on the way, even when every voice is telling you it's never going to happen. I know many people that watch have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, and you could be sour, bitter, no joy. But if you'll have the right attitude, God will take what was meant for your harm and use it to your advantage. That storm was meant to defeat you, but

God will use it to promote you. You're going to come out with a better house, with better furniture, with new carpet. God is in the restoration business. Don't talk yourself out of it. Get up every morning, Father, I want to thank you that you're a god of restoration. I know I've been armed with strength for this battle. You said you'd make the enemy pay. My declaration is I'm coming out stronger. I'm coming out promoted, I'm coming out increase, I'm coming out better off than I was before.

That's what allows the most powerful force in the universe to go to work. It may not happen overnight. God doesn't say I'll do this in twenty four hours, or two weeks or seven months. God doesn't put a timetable on it. He simply says in due season, you will rip if you don't give up. When you go through a loss, when you suffer a setback, God immediately establishes a due season, a set time to pay you back. But along the way, God is watching. What do they say.

Do they still believe it's going to happen? Are they still talking about how it's going to turn around? Or have they gotten discouraged and settled where they are now? Pass the test all through the day, Father, thank you that you're restoring back everything that belongs to me. Young man about twenty years old told me how when he was a child, he was passed from relative to relative. Nobody really wanted to raise him. He can't ever remember

laughing and playing as a child. He said, Joel, I feel like somebody stole my childhood, and it's easy to think, well, too bad, just my luck. Nothing I can do about that. But God said in the Book of Joel, I will restore the years that have been stolen. Friends. God knows how to make up for years of your life. No, you can't relive your childhood, but God can make the rest of your life so rewarding, so fulfilling, that you

don't even miss the years that you lost. You may feel like you wasted years in a relationship that didn't work out. But God can bring somebody into your life so great, so fun, so friendly, so attractive, that you don't even remember the years that you've lost. You may have spent years on a job that turned out to be a dead end. You are working your way to the top. Things didn't turn out like you had hoped, and now it looks like there's a big waste of time.

You don't see how you could ever get to where you want to be now. Don't believe those lies. God knows how to make up for lost time. God can accelerate things. God can bring opportunities back across your path that you missed that will thrust you years ahead. It may not have happened the first time, but God will always give you another chance. I know this man. For the first forty years of his life, he was a

cocaine addict. He came from a good family. He had a lot of opportunity, but he blew his marriage, blew his education. He thought it was all over. But today he's in his late fifties, he's very successful, he's happily married. He volunteers for us on the weekends. He said, Joel, I never dreamed God would give me another chance. What's happening. God is restoring the years. His ladder day are going to be greater than his former days. That's the way our God is. He knows how to make up for

lost time. Here's the amazing thing. Even when it's your fault, God is so merciful he'll still give you another chance. Why don't you quit worrying about what you lost and how you're not where you think you should be and say, God, I believe you can restore the years that I lost, even when it was my fault. That takes a lot of boldness. The enemy will bombard your mind, saying, man,

you're a hypocrite. You can't expect anything good. You should have been out studying, you should have been working, you should have been more disciplined. No, this is what mercy is all about. You don't deserve it. You could live guilty and condemned. When you shake it off and say God, I'm coming boldly to your throne, not because I'm perfect, but because your son made me worthy. And God, I'm asked you to turn back time and give me every

opportunity that I have missed. See, God is not moved when we have that weak, unworthy, poor old me mentality. I don't deserve anything good. I've made too many mistakes. No, God wants to restore. He's full of mercy. But you've got to have the right attitude. And some of you have given up on your dreams, thinking about the years you wasted in the first marriage, and how you didn't spend enough time with your children, how somebody hurts you. No,

quit blaming yourself, quit blaming others. God can still get you to where you're supposed to be. He knows how to restore the years. Our daughter Alexandra, was two months old when my father went to be with the Lord. During that time, my dad was on dialysis and I was taking him up to the clinic and bringing him back home. Was a very busy season. Then two months later, when Daddy died, our whole world changed. We were thrust into this new position and I was doing my best

to just try to keep my head above water. I don't really remember the first few years of Alexander's life that well. We were in such a transition and I was learning how to minister trying to figure everything out.

One day, we were looking at her baby pictures and I realized that I don't have the same memories of her the first few years of her life as I do our son Jonathan, and just under my breath, almost in passing, I said, God, I'm asking you to restore the years that I lost being so busy and so preoccupied with other things. That time, Alexander was about six years old, and it seemed like from that time forward all she wanted to do was to be with me,

her father. She'd rather go out in the backyard and let me watch her turn cartwheels than to have her friends over to play. In fact, sometimes I needed a brain. I would say, Alexandra, are you sure you don't want to go to your cousins. You can go swimming. You're sure you don't want to invite your friends over? She said, no, Daddy, I just want to stay here with you. Even now she's fourteen years old, we're still the best of friends.

She'll come up during the day at the house and put her arm around me and we'll laugh, talk, have a good time. She's like Victoria, she can't keep her hands off of me. But you know, what that is. That's where we're thinking what that is? Seriously, that's God restoring the years. That's God turning back time. Why don't you ask God to restore any opportunities that you've missed. Why don't you ask him to restore relationships that are not what they should be. God knows how to restore

the years. Second King's Chapter eight, there's the story about a life. This lady that was good friends with him and her son died and Elisha came prayed for the boy and he came back to life. Later, there was a great famine in the land. Elisha told this woman that she needed to move to another city because the food was going to be so scarce. So she left there and went to the land of the Philistines. Seven

years later, the famine was over. She was so excited about coming back home, but when she arrived, she found that somebody was living in her house, farming her land, making money off of her property. She couldn't believe it. She said, what are you doing here? This is my house. I built this place. They wouldn't budge. They weren't about to leave. She didn't know what to do, so she decided to go see the King. Now, this king wasn't a godly man. She didn't have any connection with him.

She didn't even know if the king would see her. But when she arrived, it just so happened that Gehzei, that was this assistant to Elisha, he happened to be there visiting with the king. The King was very intrigued by the prophet Elisha. He asked Gehza to tell him some stories about the miracles that Elisha had performed. Just so happened that gehes I started off telling this story about this little boy that died and how Elisha prayed

and he came back to life. Right as he was telling it, perfectly on cue, this lady walked in the room. Gaehes I was amazed. He said, King, that's the lady I'm talking about right there. It was her son that came back to life. The King said, is this true? She said, exactly true. The King was so moved not only by the miracle, but by the fact that this lady had shown up unannounced, perfectly on cue. He said to the lady, ma'am, what can I do for you.

She explained her situation, how she had gone for seven years and now she's back home and somebody was living in her house. The King said, no problem, I'll take care of that. He instructed his officials to make sure that she not only got her house back, but he said see to it that she gets all the money from any crops that were harvested during the seven years that she was gone. What she had lost by being away for seven years was returned to her in one day.

That was God restoring the years, paying her back for what should have been heard. Now, some of you are due payback. You've lost some things. The good news is they still have your name on them. Your health, your dreams, your finances, your relationships. If you'll have this restoration mentality like this lady, God will pay you back for everything that should have been yours. God can make up for

seven years of loss with one good break. God can take fifteen years of struggle and lack and cause one person to show you favor. That will make up for those fifteen years You may have struggled. In your health, in a relationship, in your mind, no peace for get this down in your spirit. It's payback time. God is going to start restoring everything that should have been yours. Some of you are raising a child that's difficult. You never complain. You love your child, but it's taken your joy,

your passion. God is going to pay you back. He knows exactly what you're owed. He's going to give you greater strength, greater joy. You may have missed out temporarily, but you need to get ready. What your ode is still in your account, and God knows how to get it to you. You may have put up with an illness for a long time, worked at a job where you're not being treated right, struggled with an addiction for many years. Be encouraged. Today payday is on its way.

God's not only going to turn it around. He's going to restore everything back to you that should have been yours. The rest of your life is going to be more rewarding, more fulfilling than anything you've experienced before. That's what it says Psalm sixty six twelve. We went through the fire, through the flood, but God brought us out to a place of great abundance. That's what God is going to do for you. You've been through the famine, through the

tough time, but you passed the test. Now God's going to bring you not to a place of abundance, but a place of great abundance, great joy, great friendships, great health, great income. Our attitude should be God, I'm ready. I know it's payback time. Now. I'm not sitting around focused on what I lost and who hurt me and where I missed it. I'm focused on the fact that you're

a God of restoration. You're full of mercy. You know exactly what I'm ow and you promised you would pay me back and bring me to a place of great abundance. That's the attitude that allows God to restore, to make up for lost time, lost health, lost wages, lost victories. One time in the Old Testament, an enemy army had surrounded the Israelites and cut off their food supply. The Israelites were eating things that were unthinkable. A few more

days and they certainly would have starved to death. The prophet Elisha showed up and said, by this time tomorrow there will be so much food you'll be able to buy a loaf of bread for one penny. The assistant to the king said, Elisha, what are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? Even if God opened up the windows of heaven, that would not happen. Notice, God said, restoration is coming. It's going to happen sooner than you think. It's going to be greater than you imagined. You're coming

to a place of great abundance. But this assistant only looked at it in the natural. He checked the stock report, he looked at his bank statement, he watched the nightly news. Said it's impossible, there's no way that could happen. But there were four lepers sitting outside the city gates. They said, we have nothing to lose. We're going to starve to death anyway, Let's march down toward the enemy's camp and see what's going on. As they started walking, God multiplied

the sound of their footsteps. They sounded like a huge army was approaching. The enemy army got afraid, took off running, left their food, left their treasures, left a whole camp filled with supplies. Those four lepers went back to their family, the Israelites, and said, come with us, there's more than enough. The people were so excited, so hungry, they took off, running out of the city to go get the food. This assistant that said it would never happen was in

control of the gain. When the people came out running so fast he got knocked down and was trampled to death. He said it would never happen, and for him, he was exactly right. It never happened. God is saying today he's going to restore what was stolen. He's going to pay you back for what you lost. He's going to bring you to a place of great abundance. Now here's my challenge. Don't be like this man. I don't see how it could happen. I never get any good breaks.

I've been through too much. You know that's going to keep you from God's best. You've got to have this restoration mentality. God. I agree, I know it's payback time. I want to thank you Lord for restoring the health, the peace, the joy, the finances, the ideas, everything that belongs to me. That's what allows God to work. Some of you have let your thoughts and discouragement what you've been through talk you out of it. But today is a new day. Faith is rising, strongholds are being broken,

favor is coming because you have this restoration mentality. God's not only going to restore what's been stolen, but I believe and declare you're coming out stronger promoted, increased, healthier, wiser. You're coming out to a place of abundance in Jesus' name. If you receive it, can you say him in today? We never like to close our broadcasts without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say Lord, Jesus, I

repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places you've never dreamed of.

a masterpiece. You've been fearfully and wonderfully made. I'd love to send you by new book plus the Maide by God T shirt from a good friends at Copper Fit. When you know who you are and who you are a child of the most High, you can live with confidence and step in to who you were created to be.

the way God sees you. Valuable, talented, a masterpiece. And when you request your copy, we also want to send you the exclusive Made by God t shirt from our friends at Copperfit, a daily reminder you can wear as a declaration of who you are and whose you are. Set down what was never yours to carry. Request your copy today.

for all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we meet again, May the Lord bless you and keep you.

reminder that your life is not random. God has a plan for you. Wherever your day takes you, you will carry a message that speaks life not only over yourself, but to everyone around you. You can request these inspiring recoes horses by calling eight eight eight five six seven Joel or logging on to joelostein dot com today call or click anytime, twenty four hours a day